Chloe gripped the baseball bat, eyes fixed on the massive block of ice in front of her.She clenched her jaw—then, without hesitation, swung it down with all her strength.
As a trained doctor, she wasn't as squeamish around corpses as most.
Crack!
The bat bounced off the ice with a sharp thud.Pain shot through her hands from the recoil, and she winced, dropping the bat with a soft "Ow."
Chloe rubbed her palms, frowning."So damn hard."
Without waiting for Ethan to say a word, she turned and walked back inside.When she came back out, she was holding a hefty iron sledgehammer.
"This should work better," she said, expression firm.
Ethan blinked.
Alright... maybe he had underestimated this woman.
Chloe raised the hammer and smashed down again.The layer of ice wasn't that thick—Ethan hadn't doused the bodies in that much water—and Chloe was surprisingly strong.
Chunks of ice began to fly.
Ethan stood off to the side, phone in hand, calmly recording the whole thing.
With the first swing out of the way, Chloe's nerves settled.She struck again, then again—crack, crack, crack—her blows relentless.
Soon, the entire ice block was shattered into jagged pieces.
Inside the fragmented chunks, it was hard to make out any human shapes anymore.Just twisted blobs of color and frost.
But Ethan knew exactly what had been inside.
Once the job was done, Chloe climbed back over the railing to Ethan's balcony.
"Why'd you even record that?" she asked, wiping her hands and changing back into her indoor clothes.
Ethan grinned, mischief in his eyes, as he sent the video straight to the building's group chat.
Chloe's eyes lit up with understanding.
"You're trying to make a statement—to scare the others off."
"Exactly," Ethan said. "And not just that. I'm going to take Chen Zhenghao's place."
The other residents had feared Chen Zhenghao more than him.
After all, Chen had a gun—and he'd kicked down doors, murdered people, and stolen their supplies.
Even though Ethan had killed more people, the others still thought of him as just some shut-in who got lucky with traps.
That had to change.
Ethan needed to seize control of the narrative.It was time to establish dominance—and prep for the possibility that he'd eventually have to step outside.
Chloe nodded in approval, fully supporting his approach.
Ethan leaned back on the couch to relax and scrolled through the group chat while Chloe curled up beside him.
Her legs were tucked together like a cat, and her head rested gently against his shoulder.
They looked just like a couple madly in love.
In truth, Chloe's feelings came more from dependence—a woman's natural admiration for strength.
To Ethan, she was still more servant than lover.Emotional attachments could come later... maybe.If they did, fine. If not, that was fine too.
The network was running slow lately. It took a full minute for the video to upload.
Snowfall must've affected the nearby towers.Still, this was China—top-tier infrastructure meant that even now, communication hadn't completely broken down.
Just slower, that's all.
Eventually, people started clicking the video.
And when they saw what Ethan had done to Chen Zhenghao and his crew, the chat exploded.
"Chen Zhenghao... that monster's finally dead!"
"Xiaocui, you can rest in peace now!"
"He's dead! We can go outside again!"
"That bastard! He deserved it—hahahaha... haha... sob sob..."
The hatred for Chen Zhenghao ran deep.If not for his reign of terror, many of the people in this building might still be alive.
Loved ones, friends, even children... all gone because of him.
No words could capture that pain.
Ethan sent another message into the group:
"Chen Zhenghao is dead. I killed him."
Chloe gave him a side-eye, muttering to herself, "You mean I did…"
Ethan continued typing:
"From now on, I'm in charge of this building."
People were still piecing things together. But the video had clearly shown Chloe helping Ethan—so the connection was obvious.
"You killed him? You're incredible, man! Thank you for getting rid of that scumbag!"
"Ethan, do you have food? I'm starving. My son's dead... my daughter too... but I want to live."
"Ethan, please—just a bite of food. I'll do anything you ask!"
To them, Ethan wasn't a person anymore. He was a walking supply depot.
He was food.
Ethan rolled his eyes.
"They're not even afraid of me..."
"I just killed the most feared guy in this building, and they're still begging like I'm Santa Claus."
Chloe gave a sweet little laugh.
"That's because you're a good guy."
Ethan stared at her like she'd lost her mind.
"Me? A good guy? Don't go putting halos on my head."
But Chloe was serious.
"You never started the killing. Everything you did was self-defense."
"And Chen Zhenghao? He deserved what he got."
Ethan said nothing. He didn't think of himself as good—or evil.
He simply hadn't been pushed far enough yet.
That was all.
Just then, someone sent a voice message into the group chat.
"Ethan... is Chloe staying at your place now? Why her? Why not me?!"
The woman had caught a detail in the video—that Chloe was helping Ethan.Which meant, they were probably together.
The rest of the group chat lost their minds.
They would kill to get into Ethan's fortress.
Word was, he had a fireplace. His place was like a tropical greenhouse in a snow-covered hell.
And that food? Mountains of it. Enough for ten years!
They had tried to break in before... and failed.But Chloe gave them hope.
"Ethan, whatever Chloe did—I can do better! Let me in!"
"Ethan, I've secretly liked you for so long. Will you be my boyfriend?"
"Even if I'm a man... I'll do anything for you…"
Ethan physically recoiled at the last one.
Chloe's eyes went wide, the growing sense of danger unmistakable.
After all, whether as a doctor or a woman... she wasn't irreplaceable.
And truthfully, she wasn't that great at playing the flirt.
What if Ethan found someone "better" and kicked her to the curb?
Chloe bit her lip, gripping Ethan's arm tightly like he might disappear.
Meanwhile, jealousy ran wild.
Everyone wanted to be in Chloe's place.
Even Claire.
Claire:
"Ethan... are you with Chloe now?"
He ignored her.
But that only made her panic.
Claire was huddled in a filthy room, her hair a matted mess, stinking like a corpse.
Sun Zhichao, Peter, and the others had been dead for days.
Yet she still clung to a sliver of hope—that she'd somehow make it to Ethan's fortress one day.
Her cracked hands trembled as she typed:
"Ethan... now that Chen is gone, can I finally come over?"
"Didn't you say we'd build a life together? That you'd keep me warm and safe?"
"You promised you'd take care of me!"
"You're mine, Ethan! You belong to me! Everything you have should be mine!"
Ethan snorted.
"You're still alive?"
Claire's eyes lit up.
"So that's it... he only took Chloe in because he thought I was dead!"
"Now that he knows I'm alive... he'll come for me!"
She trembled with excitement, typing furiously:
"Ethan, I'm okay! I'm still here! You loved me, remember? You wouldn't really leave me!"
"Kick her out! I'm the one who truly loves you!"
Just then, Wang Min and Natalie noticed Claire's expression.
They saw the light in her eyes... and realized immediately—she was chatting with Ethan.
The two women lunged forward, eyes full of madness.
"Claire! Don't you dare leave us behind and go live the good life!"
All three of them scrambled to grab the phone, frantically typing out messages to Ethan.
Natalie:
"Ethan, I'm way better than Claire. I'd never treat you like a backup plan."
Wang Min:
"Ethan... I may be a bit older, but older women know how to treat a man right. Those little girls don't know anything about tenderness!"
Ethan read the flood of desperate texts and laughed out loud.
The audio messages, the chaotic typing—it was all a show.
A very entertaining one.
Chloe, on the other hand, was gripped by a rising sense of dread.
She clung to Ethan's arm like he might vanish at any moment.